Penza, 26 July 2016. PenzaNews. A young man, 23, drowned in a pond next to Akhmatovka village in the Nikolsk area of the Penza region in attempt to escape the police.

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“The man in question was brought to criminal responsibility eight times for such crimes as theft, armed robbery, fraud, hijacking and sexual assault, and was a suspect in a number of crimes committed in the Nikolsk area. The police were informed that the suspect had been spotted next to the pond in question, and a dispatch left to detain him,” the press service of the Penza region Ministry of the Interior department informed PenzaNews.

According to them, the young man spotted the police, ran into the water and attempted to swim across the pond to escape pursuit.

“When the police officers saw that the man began to drown, they rushed to save his life, but unsuccessfully as he swam too far away from the shore,” they added.

The full details of the tragic incident are currently under investigation, the press service clarified.